Soundcard advice

[mepbowles]

Now before I start talking bear in mind that I'm a very vain and pernickety person when it comes to my computer. I would much rather it looked nice and perform slightly WORSE than look ugly.

That said... I was thinking about getting a soundcard after I upgrade my PC case and cooler and really wanted a white one to match the fractal R4 white. I saw the ESI Juli@ XTE and the reviews of it all seem to be quite stellar... but I get the feeling its more for music making than listening to music movies and a little bit of gaming.

Does anyone know if this is the case or does it also stand up well as a conventional PC soundcard? And if not do you know of any other white pcb soundcards?

http://www.esi-audio.com/products/juliaxte/

Thanks

[DDY]

Why do you want a soundcard? What can't your motherboard's onboard audio do which a soundcard can?

The soundcard above is indeed geared for music and recording but it will do well for general audio, it's just overkill for listening to music, movies and playing games.

You should also note, the above card doesn't have;

- Surround sound (it does though digital, but so does your mobo)
- Conventional PC audio connectors so you'll also need new cables or adapters to hook up your existing speakers, headphones or headset/mic
- Standard AC97/HD internal audio connector, you'll need to make an adapter to hook up your case's front panel audio. I say 'make' because there are no off-the-shelf 1x2 1/4" TS to AC97 adapters! Not too difficult though.

It's not really the ideal soundcard, have you researched painting PCB? It's possible and with PCB trace and component highlights can make for a very pretty display.

[kalniel]

[DDY]

Lol, if anything not the "Aqua" version surely?

[mepbowles]

Ah this is what I feared. I guess the Prodigy XFi would be a better shout.
http://www.esi-audio.com/products/prodigyxfinrg/

As for your question as to why I need a soundcard... I don't really... I could quite happily get by with using the onboard but when I finish university I'll be able to start using my proper speaker system rather than this logitech 5.1 set up. I figured a soundcard was the first step in increasing my audio quality as many have remarked a clear increase in sound quality of dedicated cards over onboard.

The Julia had RCA outputs which are fine and I believe I read that guitars could be plugged directly into it and this would also allow me to record from my old school keyboard too if I ever get good enough. I think the main reason behind it was for the opportunity and options it has. The lack of surround sound is somewhat damning but I think I had subconscious dreams of making music! lol. It wasn't going to be an instant buy, more something to sit and ponder over until I finish my masters in september. Thanks for the good points.

Tipex! LOLLL. Although.... I could probably ask my department to put down a thin layer of white pigmented polymer. Or spray it with clear coat and then paint over that (making sure it was non conductive).